Book Description

"This volume represents the social constructivist turn of the field. It is evident that social constructivism made a major impact on the field during the 1970s and 1980s. The diverse papers included here highlight the role of ethnography in STS. In addition, we are exposed to new perspectives of the multicultural and gendered nature of knowledge production."

—Science, Technology, and Society

For the most current, comprehensive resource in this rapidly evolving field, look no further than the Revised Edition of the Handbook of Science and Technology Studies. This masterful volume is the first resource in more than 15 years to define, summarize, and synthesize this complex multidisciplinary, international field. Tightly edited with contributions by an internationally recognized team of leading scholars, this volume addresses the crucial contemporary issues—both traditional and nonconventional—social studies, political studies, and humanistic studies in this changing field. Containing theoretical essays, extensive literature reviews, and detailed case studies, this remarkable volume clearly sets the standard for the field. It does nothing less than establish itself as the benchmark, one that will carry the field well into the next century.

"The long-awaited Handbook of Science and Technology Studies sponsored by the Society for Social Studies of Science is a truly substantial work, both in size and in the breadth of its many contributions. It is a rich and valuable guide to much that is transpiring in the field of Science and Technology Studies. In the editors’ words, it is 'an unconventional but arresting atlas of the field at a particular moment in its history.'"

—Science, Technology & Society

"This book is not only an important resource for practitioners, but it also may help to spark the curiosity of those who are outside the field—including scientists and engineers themselves—and so pull the ‘half-seen world' of science and technology studies even more fully into the light of day."

—American Scientist

"The book as a whole is an impressive testimony to the vitality of a burgeoning field."

—New Scientist

"It reflects the international and interdisciplinary nature of the society. An excellent resource"

—Choice

Book Description

Just as humans scale the highest mountains, they also explore the deepest depths of the world's oceans. In this lavish atlas, a variety of maps depict the fascinating geographical landmarks of the ocean floor: volcanoes that rise suddenly from the deep ocean; seamounts and ridges that contain rich mineral deposits; shipwrecks (the Titanic is only one example among many); and marine life in the hidden depths of the ocean that until now has been invisible to humans.

Deep-sea exploration is one of the great achievements of the twentieth century. Expeditions to the bottom of the sea, for example Picard's groundbreaking explorations in a submersible, made sensational news. Still, these excursions to the deepest places on earth were isolated events. It wasn't until after the Second World War that a comprehensive picture of the ocean floor began to emerge. World Atlas of the Oceans brings these images together in a new and truly unique look at the oceans. The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (or GEBCO), contained in this atlas, has never been published. And, relief maps and satellite images of the oceans provide detailed pictures of the hidden recesses of the world's oceans.

World Atlas of the Oceans is the only cartographic work of its kind to document the ocean floor with its mountains, volcanoes, fracture zones, and outline of tectonic plates in such amazing detail. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Atlas Schmatlas
First let me say that this book has a large number of very pretty 'maps.' If all you're looking for is pretty pictures, this book is for you.

That said, I was very disappointed to find no ancillary information with these maps - projection info, scale, date, data source, and vertical exaggeration. All the elements that make a map truly meaninful. Without this information, all these beautiful maps are mearly pictures.

I also think it's telling that one of the captions refers to a picture of a squid as a 'giant octopus.' Anyone who has spent more than ten minutes studying the ocean knows the difference between these two animals. This could just be poor editing.

Overall, this book was a disappointment.

For Random Browsing Only
I have been reading about underwater exploration. A "World Atlas of the Oceans" sounded like the perfect study companion.
I was hoping for a really good, well indexed, collection of maps that covered the entire ocean floor. I was not able to determine how much of the ocean is covered by the included maps.)
The lack of an index to the maps makes it difficult to look up and, go to a map of any particular place. The table of contents lists each map by the title of the short essay that accompanies each map. So, if you have not read and recalled the essay you can't know what map you will find. In fact the entire book is a long series of articles and essays about the oceans. Lots of pretty pictures, and titillating, short introductions to interesting subjects. It IS a beautiful book, and a great intro to our underwater world, that is why I gave this book more than one star.
A map of the 200 beautiful maps would have made this book actually useful. ... Read more

Book Description

The International Handbook of Science Education is a twovolume edition consisting of 77 chapters arranged into 10 sectionspertaining to the most significant issues in science education.Current research and thinking and associated implications for practiceare presented for learning, teaching, learning environments, teachereducation, curriculum, educational technology, research methods,assessments and evaluation, equity, and history and philosophy ofscience. Each section contains a lead chapter that provides anoverview and synthesis of the field and 5-8 related chapters thatprovide a narrower focus on research and current thinking on the keyissues in that field. Leading researchers from around the world haveparticipated as authors and consultants to produce a resource that iscomprehensive, detailed and up to date. The chapters provide the mostrecent and advanced thinking in science education from internationalleaders in the field. The Handbook is the most authoritativeresource yet produced in science education. ... Read more

Book Description

Writing Reaction Mechanisms in Organic Chemistry, Second Edition, is an invaluable guide to charting the movements of atoms and electrons in the reactions of organic molecules. Miller and Solomon illustrate that understanding organic reactions is based on applying general principles rather than the rote memorization of unrelated processes, and, in turn, emphasize that writing mechanisms is a practical method of applying knowledge of previously encountered reactions and reaction conditions to new reactions. Students and research chemists alike will find this book useful in providing a method of organizing and synthesizing an oftentimes overwhelming quantity of information into a set of general principles and guidelines for determining and describing organic reaction mechanisms.

* Essential for those students who need to have mechanisms explained in greater detail than most organic chemistry textbooks provide.
* Illustrated with hundreds of chemical structures
* Extensively rewritten and reorganized to make the presentation and format even easier for students to use
* Contains many problem sets and answers to all problems to help students work through general principles and applications
* Appendixes have been added to this edition that contain easily referenced information on Lewis structures, symbols for chemical notation, and the relative acidities of common substances ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A good start, but it won't get you a PhD
Miller and Solomon have prepared a good refresher for writing organic mechanism. I might suggest this book for a student learning organic chemistry, or someone who is returning to the field. However, for preparation towards qualifying or cumulative exams, this review will leave you short.

A big step towards the understanding of organic chemistry
This book is made for those who think that Organic Chemistry is just a succession of empirical reactions. If you have problems memorizing your Organic course this book should help a lot. All along the text you will learn how to derive a plausible mechanism for a given reaction. Miller did a great job in demonstrating that there is logic in Organic Chemistry. Moreover the book provides solid tools for those who plan to move towards more advanced concepts. This second edition displays a much improved presentation. A must, affordable, simple and efficient. ... Read more

Book Description

Unifies the complex welter of techniques used for chemical separations by clearly formulating the concepts that are common to them. The mass transport phenomena underlying all separation processes are developed in a simple physical-mathematical form. The limitations and optimum performance of alternative separation techniques and the factors enhancing and limiting separation power can thus be described and explored. Generously illustrated and contains numerous exercises. Long awaited in the scientific community, it breaks new ground in understanding separation processes. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Unified Separation Science Review
Is a great book for people starting in any type of separation sciences. It is easy to understand and explains many important concepts that are necessary to understand the chromatographic phenomena.

Very useful and thorough
I've used this book in my own research and also in teaching grad level chemical separations course -- an excellent resource. A perfect "career bookend" to Giddings' early work "Dynamics of Chromatography". ... Read more

Book Description

An extensive astronomy reference, beautifully illustrated and expertly written.

The Firefly Encyclopedia of Astronomy is organized A-Z with concise details on each topic. The pages are profusely illustrated with vivid computer graphics, photography and archival images. Included are accessible contributions by 650 world-leading astronomers covering: - History from the Big Bang to present - Famous astronomer bios - Key space missions since the launch of Sputnik - The work of observatories worldwide.

"Backyard stargazing is a lot more fun when you understand what you're looking at. The Orion Nebula is pretty in any telescope, but the view is all the more inspiring when you know that the light you're seeing left the nebula as the Roman Empire fell and that new stars are continually forming from the glowing gas.

"It's appropriate that professionals and amateurs should come together to produce such a work, because at the dawn of the twenty-first century the line between the two communities is becoming blurred. Technology is putting state-of-the-art capabilities into the hands of backyard observers, many of whom are now collaborating with professionals to study phenomena as diverse as Martian dust storms and bursts of energetic radiation from distant galaxies.

"Wherever your astronomical interests take you, this encyclopedia will be a welcome and valuable companion."

Rick Fienberg- Editor-in-Chief of Sky and Telescope magazine ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Good Case
Jonathan Eisen makes a convincing case that cures for cancer and alternative energy devices are being suppressed. I had professors in engineering college tell stories of people who had been killed for creating super efficient carburetors or former students who had been paid off to stop producing solar energy devices. Well Eisen has put a bunch of these stories together. He even has a whole chapter on alternative carburetors. What I like about the book is that he gives lots of foot notes and references including patents. I don't believe everything he says but with the references I am free to check his sources my self. I think the people on Mars and the moon landing being faked are a little far fetched but he does construct a convincing argument.
onathan Eisen makes a convining case that cures for cancer and
alternative energy devices are being suppressed. I had

Good Book
Definetly a must read, if youre a conspiracy believer like me! Eisen covers suppressed cures for Cancer and a very good review of Tesla, a faorgotten and uncredited Scientist. I dont quite agree with the moon landing story, but Definetly worth the read and Money!

My only question: how did he get it published?
I confess immediately to being a conspiracy believer: whenever people say I'm mad for believing the strange theories that people present, I always am reminded of the old saying, "Where there's smoke there's fire" and the ski's full of billowing smoke after reading Eisen's book!
Suppressed Inventions is one of those books that you can easily read and put down and then go back to weeks later because each chapter can be read alone-it is only the totality of all that he writes that leaves you looking for a very stiff drink after you finally put his book down.
I do not have a scientific mind and found the going in several of his chapters reasonably hard; however, this comment is in no way meant to steer any prospective readers away from this extraordinarily rich mine of very necessary material for anybody who would like to keep their fingure on the pulse of the new millennium.
Of the many lights that Eisen has switched on in this remarkable book perhaps the most astounding is chapter 27-"Did NASA Sabotage Its Own Space Capsule?" Aftert reading it I admit to being skeptical-I mean to believe that Grissom, White and Chaffee were murdered by NASA meant that there was no moon landing and that the whole Appollo 11 thing was staged on a secret base in Nevada-whoa!
I was skeptical until two weeks ago when I watched a prime-time TV doco about the theory held by many people that the moon landings were phoney. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that just because the US government says the whole theory is laughable doesn't meam that it's laughable.
My sggestion-buy the book and draw your own conclusions. Even if you think it's all rubbish then at the very least you are left with a compendium of many of the current theories about the truth of what we're allowed to know.

For hard-core conspiracy theorists only
It's hard to put much faith in book that begins with an introduction that talks about an inventor who came up with a way to make any car with a gasoline engine run on water and get 100 miles per gallon. Unfortunately, after progress in developing his invention was "mysteriously halted," his formula died with him. Also tough to swallow is the claim on pages 146-149 that a certain Gaston Naessens discovered "the world's smallest living organism," an organism "revealed to be virtually indestructible," an organism so hard that it is "impossible to cut with a diamond knife." Unfortunately, as in the cold fusion delusion a few years back, Naessens's claim has gone unsubstantiated.

Far be it from me to spoil anyone's fun, but when people start presenting phony cancer cures, as is done in this book in the section dealing with "suppressed" medical therapies, I tend to take it personally. Cancer is hellish enough without having to spend your last few precious hours (and dollars) wading through a forest of fake cures. The really terrible thing about this book is the fact that there is a very real danger that the big drug companies and the AMA might very well be overlooking and denigrating valid therapies, but we're not going to find out about them from a book that claims, for example, that NASA is suppressing telescopic evidence of canals and a flourishing plant life on Mars (pp. 382-396).

The problem for the layman has always been how to separate the truth from the paranoid delusions of conspiracy theorists or the apocryphal experience of a few people. This book, a cockeyed collection of fantastic conspiracy theories, I am sorry to report, does not help.

FIVE STARS PLUS!
This book presents revealing stories of coverups in many fields, including medicine, alternate energy resources, archaeology, NASA, UFOs, etc. Many books and articles have been written through the years on these subjects, but I am grateful to the author for his well-researched, well-written compilation of so many of them into one source. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in educating themselves about how scientific arrogance and corporate greed have contributed to the steady decline of life on this planet. Nikola Tesla's ideas alone would have spared us many of the ecological disasters we now face. This book deserves 5 stars plus for its disclosure of the years of disinformation we have been given on matters of so much importance to us all. ... Read more

Book Description

This excellent guide tells graduate students and other young scientists and engineers everything they need to know to help them work creatively and communicate their achievements in oral presentations and written publications. Also addressing the topics of scientific ethics, electronic publishing, and patents, this concise but comprehensive book will help answer many of the questions faced by novice researchers, thereby making their tasks seem less intimidating. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

an excellent book for Chemes from Chinese language
extensive and thorough. has basically all the stuffs. includesterminology and illustrations etc. a must have ... Read more

Amazon.com

How do species evolve? Richard Dawkins, one of the world's most eminent zoologists, likens the process to scaling a huge, Himalaya-size peak, the Mount Improbable of his title. An alpinist does not leap from sea level to the summit; neither does a species utterly change forms overnight, but instead follows a course of "slow, cumulative, one-step-at-a-time, non-random survival of random variants"--a course that Charles Darwin, Dawkins's great hero, called natural selection. Illustrating his arguments with case studies from the natural world, such as the evolution of the eye and the lung, and the coevolution of certain kinds of figs and wasps, Dawkins provides a vigorous, entertaining defense of key Darwinian ideas. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Answer to questions about life: natural selection
Of the many fine books Dawkins has given us, this one stands out as possibly the best. Although the importance of The Selfish Gene still transcends it, Climbing Mount Improbable has unique value. Dawkins has an exceptional ability to explain the immense spectrum of life's complexities. He demonstrates that skill admirably here in a volume that's proven timeless. Having bought this book when first published, it was particularly delightful to pick it up again and discover it's lost nothing since then.

He begins this collection of essays with a new label: the "designoid". Designoids are those elements in life that seem designed; beyond the caprice of the apparent random natural forces. Dawkins quickly points out that evolution is not "random" nor are any of the complex aspects of living things the result of a designer. Dawkins uses the title of this review, attributed to Henry Bennet-Clark, as the basis for the rest of the book. Natural selection can, and does, explain it all.

Using the theme of climbing a mountain, Dawkins shows the true path to the peak is by means of gentle slopes, not attempting a great leap. Too many people accept the steep precipice of divine origins as the explanation of complex phenomena in life. Dawkins explains how gradual steps are required for life to manifest spider webs, wings, and the Christian obstructionist's favourite, the eye. Each of these wonders is examined critically with the best scientific logic, explaining its development with clarity and wit. He frequently reminds us that such complex organs as the elephant's trunk have progressed through numerous stages, each of which was successful within its own environment. As environments changed, the trunk responded with new adaptations. Modern animals, such as the tapir, elephant shrew, proboscis monkey or seals, all exhibit nasal trunks that likely represent the stages the elephant's ancestors passed through to produce today's

Computer models have become a favourite analytical tool for tracking likely paths in evolution. Dawkins has written his own and applauds others' successful efforts. The computer has the capacity to accelerate the likely steps life has taken in producing designoids. He's careful to warn us that mathematical models don't duplicate life's processes, but simply provide situations that could have happened under certain conditions. Even with that caution in mind, his relation of the study of possible evolutionary paths of the eye is one of the most captivating accounts in biology. It's not even his own work. Two Swedish researchers programmed the most pessimistic conditions for the evolution of a workable eye and deduced it would take less than half a million years.

The essay "A Garden Enclosed" might have brought a tear to the eye of E.O. Wilson, biology's greatest exponent of biodiversity. Dawkins takes us through the life cycles of the figs and their wasp pollinators. The beauty of this essay is almost staggering both in his superb presentation and in the implications it raises. Wasps inhabit the interior of figs, drawing on them for nourishment and residence, but pollinating them with almost human dedication. Dawkins' description of the complex interaction between plant and insect raises again the issue of how little we know about life's interactions. And how much we're intruding on them in our ignorance.

Dawkins has never hidden his advocacy role in describing how evolution works and how poorly our culture understands what's going on around us. More than simply anticipating obstructionists such as Michael Behe in Darwin's Black Box, Dawkins aims his criticism at all who adhere to the Judeo-Christian assertion that humanity has some divine mandate to exercise "dominion over the earth". Clearly, that belief will be the undoing of the species and perhaps life itself if it isn't shed and a better understanding of the interaction of life attained. The best place to start attaining that understanding starts with this book. Buy it, loan it, give it to those who need to learn what life's all about - our children.

Answering an age-old argument against natural selection
What Dawkins does is take a whole slew of animal characteristics that have led even natural selection's most strident supporters (including Darwin himself) to throw up their hands and say, "This is too complex - it cannot have evolved naturally." Examples include eyes, lungs, spiderwebs (yes, animal behavior counts), and wings.

Dawkins then goes through these examples and painstakingly shows, step by step, that not only can each of these things be broken down into a series of *very gradual* changes - but also that each change provides an evolutionary advantage over the state that came before it.

In other words, Dawkins shows that it's entirely plausible for, e.g., an eye to evolve because each stage of development enhances the fitness of the organism, yet each individual change (not the creation of the entire eye) is caused by such a small genetic change that it could have occurred randomly.

The book effectively answers what has, historically, been one of the strongest arguments, not against evolution as a mechanism for *some* change in the natural world, but against its power to create the most complex facets of life.

Along the way, Dawkins explains evolutionary theory in simple, understandable language, showing not only its incredible power, but also its limitations: because natural selection is a series of tiny steps, in which each change must improve the animal's survival fitness, organisms can get "stuck" on a path of improvement that ultimately is not as beneficial to them as another path would have been. The book is a powerful tool for understanding how natural selection works.

On a personal note: I read this book early on in high school, and it interested me in biological science in a way no class has done. (And, as an uneducated youngster, I understood it - this is real testament to Dawkins's writing ability.) I highly recommend it.

Simply Great
This book has been a wonderful lecture, for me reading Dawkins is always interesting. This book was no exception. No matter what you may read about Dawkins arguments being simplistic or about him being condescending or whatever other critics, I assure you, this book has a lot of interesting views that deserve being taken into account. What I personally like about this book (and all of Dawkins books) is that they always give me a lot to think about. It's not only what the book says, but what the book doesn't say that makes it so interesting. It's not really a matter of how good an example is to refute a creationist view, it's about a whole lot of them that are overwhelmingly numerous and imposible to print. Dawkins uses examples, just examples.

The other delight I find worth mentioning here is the analogy. I really find the analogies Dawkins uses really acute (though every now and then one can find exceptions, but no analogy can be taken farther than what it was initially conceived to). This is simply a five stars book, I won't give you a long review, I hate them, the book is great.

Disappointed
I was disappointed with Climbing Mount Improbable. My assessment is not based on a particular worldview, but rather on the quality of the book. As evidenced by the many emotive reviews posted on this site, the theory of evolution is under attack on many fronts. I have followed this debate and read works from both sides of the issue

In purchasing Climbing Mount Improbable, I was seeking a book that could address recent challenges and clearly articulate the case for the current theory of evolution (random mutation and natural selection). I have an interest in zoology and found some of the author's descriptions in this area interesting and well stated. From my perspective, however, he does not address the issue of evolution in a direct or convincing manner (his overuse of simplistic and ill-fitted analogies was especially distracting)..

The book's style was condescending and self-aggrandizing. At times Dawkins digressed into what verged on a polemic against anyone that did not unquestioningly share his views and assumptions. For instance, the author poked some fun at Fred Hoyle for raising questions regarding evolution. Granted, Mr. Hoyle is a physicist and evolution is not his area of specialization. However, many of the recent challenges to evolution are also outside of Dawkins' expertise and make him susceptible to his own type of ridicule. I generally find that an argument that hinges on discrediting one's opponents is a tenuous argument.

I apologize to author's fans, but I do not recommend this book. Kenneth Miller's Finding Darwin's God makes the case for evolution in a much clearer and convincing manner.

Mount Improbable Scaled!
If there's anything wrong with this book it's that he scaled it too much and climbed way too far for the average reader.

The first half of the book is fabulous! Some of the best writing on the subject of Darwinism and evolution ever! Very accessible and easy to understand. Especially chapters 4 and 5 give you the confidence that the next time somebody challenges evolution you have the answers to make a solid point for it. Classic Dawkins, he explains the evolution of the eye and the wing in terms anybody can understand. Using computer programs and the example of spider webs he makes solid, visual cases for natural selection. Definately applaudable.

It's the second half of the book that I had a hard time with. I feel like he delved too deep (or too high in this case) and tried to explain things that didn't need explaining and gave too many disjointed examples of what he was trying to say. In fact he threw out the whole central theme of the book - Mount Improbable - and tried to explore the idea of this multi-dimensional mathematic cube. And I'm sorry it made little sense. He should of stuck with the central theme of the book.

And where he expertly explained the eye and the wing because they are a favorite bone to pick with creationists, he went off on shells and "kaleidoscopic embryos" for no aparent purpose.

Chapter 9 was basically a super-condensed version of The Selfish Gene which I suppose he included because not everybody has read that great book. But it still seemed superfluous to the main point of the book.

He returns to his point at the end of the book thankfully but by then you feel like it should of ended a long time ago and you get the point enough to work out his final examples.

But better safe than sorry, right? It's enough that he tackled such an important issue as the improbability of evolution, using his unparalled excellence at explaining the "peaks" of "Mount Improbable" in language that everyone can understand. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Physics turned weird recently--really weird. That doesn't necessarily mean that modern physicists are weird, though, does it? Well, yes and no, says science writer Richard P. Brennan, whose book Heisenberg Probably Slept Here chronicles the lives of seven great scientists of the 20th century--Einstein, Planck, Rutherford, Bohr, Heisenberg, Feynman, and Gell-Mann--as well as their spiritual father, Isaac Newton. Fascinating and funny, each biographical sketch illuminates the man, his surroundings, and his achievements with unusual clarity.

Writing about the enormous driving force engendered in physics by World War II, with scientists on both sides striving to advance their knowledge far enough to win a terrible war, Brennan shows us the delicate contingencies that led to our current level of understanding. What if the Nazis hadn't rejected "Jewish science"? What if the Allies had assassinated Heisenberg? More generally, he tells us stories of men working like maniacs to answer some of the hardest, most basic questions about our universe ever devised, only to find more questions for the next century to ponder. We may hope that a new generation will be inspired by these stories to take weird 20th-century science much further; perhaps some day quantum mechanics will seem more quaint than abstruse. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (7)

High school physics on steroids
A lot of the material was similar to what I did in high school physics...but excellent presentation combined with insights into the lives of the phycisists made this a much more interesting text.

Heisenberg slept?!
First of all, the subtitle of this book, "The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Physicists of the 20th Century," is a bit inaccurate. Among the 8 physicists depicted in Brennan's mini-biography is Sir Isaac Newton; obviously not a denizen of the 20th century. Granted, Newton had more influence on the present epoch of physics than anyone else up until the time of Einstein, so his presence in this work is not inappropriate. It's just that he's not a 20th century physicist.

On the other hand, a startling omission is Erwin Scroedinger. It is understood that one's selection of who's in & who's out can never please everyone in these types of books. However, I can't imagine someone assembling a roster of 20th century physicists without including the venerable Schroedinger. Just my opinion.

The content of the personages Brennan does write about is quite remarkable. Brennan does a reputable job of describing the major motifs of different biographical epochs of each physicist, then mixing in some nice anectdotes for good measure. He also does not get carried away & deify the scientists to make them look infallible. Rather, Brennan fairly integrates their faults into his text. As a bonus, there is also a brief synopsis of the history of Pre-Newtonian physics.

The most informative pages are those devoted to Heisenberg. I had always wanted to believe the stories about how he tried to sabatoge the Nazi bomb effort from the inside. Unfortunately, referencing British documents which were de-classified in 1992, Brennan nullifies those arguments as nothing but wishful thinking and ad-hoc propoganda engendered by H himself.

I would highly recommend this book as a prelude for those who wish to study the lives of these great physicists more deeply. As it is a quick read, it is an equally ideal book for physicists who have only a marginal interest in the great lives of their predecessors.

Convenient compilation, however too many mistakes
I bought this book thinking about its convenient compilation: biography of Feynman, Gell-Mann, Heisenberg, Planck, all-in-one. However I was already disappointed after the first chapter about Isaac Newton, who I know well from Westfall's biography (which is cited as a reference in this book). The chapter about Newton is full of mistakes, some of them are exactly the opposite of what you find in Newton's biography. You don't need to read Westfall's book to notice that since the author uses many adjectives all the time, instead of telling the history. Then this convenience become very expensive since you must read the biography book of each scientist to find out whether the author wrote the truth or just invented it up. Being a book compiling many biographies it was expected that it would have some mistakes, however the book is full of errors instead of just one or two. It is worth reading each big biography book of each scientist in this edition since you'll find much more historical discussions instead of imposing lots of adjectives like they were facts.

Fascinating and Well Written
I thouroughly enjoyed this book for several reasons. Richard Brennan does a remarkable job of explaining each physicists' work in a manner a layperson can understand, but still involved enough that the reader appreciates the significance of each discovery. Brennan also manages to capture the character and personality of each physicist with relatively a short biography. He has also structured the book so that the implication of each of the subjects' work on his successors is clear. In short, I found the physicists' personal stories compelling and the science fascinating.

The book had exquisite view of those great scientists
When I read the book at first time, I was attracted to the stories. They are not only an interesting narrative but also provide the correct attitude of life and research of science for us. When I finished reading the book, I was deeply affected by the stories. I introduced the book to my friends, and I stilly like reading the book now. ... Read more

Book Description

Fully revised and updated, this fourth edition is the perfect guide for those studying biology. Containing many new entries, and now with biographical entries on key scientists, it provides comprehensive coverage of biology, biophysics, and biochemistry.

-Over 4,000 clear and concise entries

-New entries include heat-shock protein, zinc finger, integrated pest management, and oxidative burst

-Feature articles on important topics, such as genetically modified organisms

-Chronologies chart the discoveries in the main fields of the subject ... Read more

Book Description

The human body—with all of its parts, organs, and functions—is shown in detailed, scientifically correct full-color illustrations. Fifteen separate sections examine both male and female bodies as follows: Human cell structure ... General anatomical features ... Skeleton and musculature ... Digestive system ... Respiratory system ... Circulatory system ... Blood ... Lymphatic system ... Nervous system ... Sensory organs ... Urinary system ... Genital organs ... Human reproduction ... Endocrine system ... Immunological system. Hundreds of illustrations make this book a handy home reference, as well as a fine supplement to school science textbooks. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Beautiful atlas, great reference.
This book is a very good atlas for Anatomy and physiology. I used this book for my college undergrade A and P courses. It shows the various muscles, nervous system and skeletal system with the utmost clarity to name a few. The pictures are of top quality and make anatomy and physiology easier to understand. I also used Tortora's Principles of Anatomy and Physiology as my primary text, which is also very good. However, I used Patrick Leonardi's Anatomy and Physiology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations Volume 1 and Volume 2. These two study guides were excellent sources for knowing what high yield questions that appeared on my test. Take it from me, I got excellent grades.

Essential for Anatomy Students
I just started my first anatomy & physiology class and I'm mighty glad I found this book. I have a huge textbook (Tortora, Grabowski) and a photographic atlas for the lab (Van De Graaff, Crawley) yet the Essential Atlas is my main choice when I need to understand the body's systems. It's filled with beautiful, clearly labeled color pictures and, because it's only 96 pages, it's a joy to pick up and look at. For the price, you can't beat this book! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Must read for Ph.D. students!
There are many fine books that cover presentation skills. However, there are far fewer books that cover this topic as it specifically relates to graduate science research. Robert Anholt has done a wonderful job in this regard. Furthermore, this book has received rave reviews from many Ph.D.s with whom we have talked.

required reading
We use this book in a seminar course for seniors majoring in chemistry. When I first saw it, I realized that it neatly summarized everything I had learned about giving an effective presentation. I think it's a great resource for science professionals and students

I dazzled (thanks to this book)
Anholt covers everything you need to know about making a good scientific presentation (in any discipline)- how to structure a talk, how to present your data (on slides or overhead transparencies), how to use body language, how to answer audience questions. He illustrates his tips with real-life examples (photos and drawings) and amusing anecdotes, so you can see the logic behind his suggestions and know what to avoid doing too. The section on poster presentations was very helpful-- it includes a drawing of a real poster so that you can see an example of a good layout. The book is well-organized, easy to follow, and has really helped me avoid so many of the pitfalls that commonly plague science presentations. ... Read more

Book Description

Clear, precise definitions of scientific terms are crucial to good scientific and technical writing-and to understanding the writings of others. Whether you are a physicist, engineer, mathematician, or technical writer, whether you work in a research, academic, or industrial setting, we all have the occasional need for comprehensible, working definitions of scientific terms.To meet that need, CRC Press proudly announces publication of the Dictionary of Pure and Applied Physics-the first published volume of CRC's Comprehensive Dictionary of Physics. Authored by eminent scientists from around the world, offers concise, authoritative definitions of more than 3,000 terms covering a range of pure and applied disciplines:acousticsbiophysicscommunicationselectricityelectronicsgeometrical optics low-temperature physicsmagnetismmedical physics physical opticsThe editor has taken care to ensure each entry is as self-contained as possible, to include terms from the frontiers of technology, and to omit obsolete terms that can clutter a search. The result is a lucid, accessible, and convenient reference valuable to both the novice and the seasoned professional. ... Read more

Book Description

From Edward Abbey to zooxanthellae, this A-Z resource gives readers over 1,000 entries that tell the story of environmental science. With its wide range of information and international flavor, The Encyclopedia of Environmental Science establishes the standard for students, librarians, and others who want to understand this complex and ever-changing area of science. ... Read more

Book Description

This dictionary provides some 40,000 terms and references in all the major areas in the field, including: Air Pollution and Air Quality Control - Environmental Policy - Noise Pollution - Soil Contamination and Remediation - Water Pollution & Waste Water Treatment - Water Supply and Drinking Water - and many others. ... Read more

Book Description

Why is the night sky dark? How do dolphins sleep without drowning? Why do hangovers occur? Will time travel ever be a reality? What makes a knuckleball appear to flutter? Why are craters always round?

There's only one source to turn to for the answers to the most puzzling and thought-provoking questions about the world of science: Scientific American. Writing in a fun and accessible style, an esteemed team of scientists and educators will lead you on a wild ride from the far reaches of the universe to the natural world right in your own backyard. Along the way, you'll discover solutions to some of life's quirkiest conundrums, such as why cats purr, how frogs survive winter without freezing, why snowflakes are symmetrical, and much more. Even if you haven't picked up a science book since your school days, these tantalizing Q & A's will shed new light on the world around you, inside you, below you, above you, and beyond!

Reviews (1)

some interesting stuff, but overall dull
I usually like books like this, with questions that many people ask themselves and simple, to-the-point answers. Unfortunately, this book isn't all that great. First of all, many of the people who supply answers tend to present theories as facts. Secondly, the answers aren't always quite as concise and to-the-point as one would like. For example, should it really take two pages to say that we just don't know if dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded? Questions for which we have no answer probably would have been better off edited out of this book. Then there are the occasional answers that wander around all over the place without really answering the question. Overall, a pretty disappointing reading experience. ... Read more

Book Description